Good game Linkoura. First time playing you. It was a pleasure.

Dude, I was trying to support you in Austria over and over again after Italy opened with a crusher and Russia brought the Moscow army down to Ukraine. You kept trying to pick off my stuff.

As Russia, I wanted to ally with Austria once Italy started attacking him and Turkey moved to Armenia. But Austria hit me before I had made any real aggressive moves towards him (I was in Galicia but mostly using it to defend myself from Turkey).

I couldn't read what Turkey was thinking. He made some moves to support me and some moves to attack me. I guess if he wanted to confuse me it worked.

Once England took St. Petes I knew I had no shot to win - so I played to the draw. I tried hard to deal with France up by Belgium but the two people fighting over the Balkans had no real interest in helping.

At least in our EOG statements, let's attempt a modicum of honesty!

Ava - I felt the same way as Bob. You kept trying to pick at my stuff.

Bob, I didn't realize moving to Ukraine would be taken in that way form you.

Ernst Brenner - What on earth goes through your mind??? In some respects you are a very good player. In others, you are a tool who keeps helping people solo so the rest of us can all lose.

To be clear...Until 1903 I assumed that everyone was out to get me. Italy was clearly hostile. Turkey made hostile moves into AEG and kept supporting Russia so that was a clear message. Once Turkey moved to ARM I never once attacked Russia and that is a fact. So in 1904, two years after my last attack, I can't understand why Russia would not only strive to give Turkey SEV, but also cut my support to BUL.

Turkey, you claim to have supported me. I see no supports. Until 1902 you supported Russia in RUM and moved to AEG. In 1903 you attacked GRE. And before that you kept supporting italy into GRE. Are you implying that these were all moves of friendship? Please explain. I seem to be plagued by stupidity today.

What rubbish!

To be specific, rubbish @Lando... although some of Ava's earlier stuff applies as well.

@Lando - go look back at the map. I attacked you once. In A1902. And that was so that I could survive. I anticipated Italy to take two centers that year. Luckily he was quite stupid that year and took only one.

Ava - I'm not really sure why I made that move in 1904. I think I was buying Turkey "being nice." The previous move he had tried to bring his armenia army to Bulgaria.

I assume now he was intending to fool me.

What are you talking about Ernst? What is rubbish? You made no attempt to stop France. You had a chance to regain Vienna way earlier than you did but you just dicked around messing with Turkey.

Ah, Ava's back to the rubbish again, wonderful!

Man, you guys need some basic tactics lessons.

Go back through the game slowly, looking at each move, considering the possibilities.

Then feel free to insult yourselves as much as you like.

You can't tell us we need tactics lessons. You also LOST that game.

Linkoura played very well. He earned himself that win. But not without some help from you Mr. Brenner.

I hate one dimensional play. If every body is going to move into position to attack Austria, might as well do it properly and get it over with. I can't understand this seven years of mucking around crap. Some of the attacks on me were completely unnecessary. Germany left MUN unprotected so many times. Yet Italy focussed on the one track project of trying to unsuccessfully pick at TRI again and again and again. If I were you, Ernst, I would take a basic tactics lesson...once it becomes clear that your neighbor not only made moves that were friendly, but is also going to survive long term, might as well patch up and take up a faster growth track. The Italian attack on Germany is both painful for the latter and quicker and long lasting. Go read some strategy articles on diplom.org or something. And calling something rubbish is a dumb argument. If you think I played rubbish, maybe you should tell me why, because the way I see it I was in a dying position and did a hell of a lot to survive, and the only rubbish was the amount of dicking around you did before finishing me off.

This is what I was thinking, in sequence, after spring 01: Austria's going down unless I bolster him, and Italy and Russia will get the lion's share. Oh shit, he's trying to attack me when Italy's pouring everything into him? I'll try and persuade Russia that we're doing a juggernaut, but disembowel him before he can do serious damage to Austria. Austria's still atacking me? Fuck him, let him go down. I'll try and jackal up some leavings, and hope I can build my Balkans defense for when France disposes of England and starts moving on Italy. France can start moving on Italy any time now. Seriously France, your takedown of England is still going on? You're fucking kidding me, another fleet in Brest? How the fuck is North Africa still unoccupied when it's clear Italy and France will be battling over the West Med? France still hasn't killed England. Amazing. So, France must think Moscow will be the decisive territory, that's why he hasn't put a unit in Piedmont yet. Italy, look west. I'm playing for a draw, leave me alone and go deal with France. Still trying to attack me? Wow. Hey, look, the two powers with double digit SCs finally figured out that the other one was a threat to solo. Stalemate lines are reasonably well established. Oh fuck, it's over. Might as well add Bulgaria to my properties.

I freely acknowledge that I played a shit game as Turkey.

Bob you never made it clear that you intended to bolster me. You kept supporting Italy into GRE using your BUL unit and you kept moving into AEG.

Good summation there Bob. I have to admit your plan vs. me worked very well.

Autumn 1910 I thought we had a chance to stalemate. But then Brenner bounced himself in Sev instead of helping set up a stalemate line and I knew it was over.

I think we're all forgetting the main problem, which was Italy's play.

Ernst - how can we teach you about how WTA games work?

What the hell do you call moving to Rumania in autumn 01 without following up with an army to Bulgaria, but rather clearing Constantinople so I could build a fleet there in winter 01? Is it possible to come up with a more Austria-friendly opening for Turkey? Or how about when I stabbed Russia?

That said, my beef isn't with your play as Austria, but that of France. That was the single worst win I have ever seen that was actually played out without CDs. It started out great, but France kept continually sacrificing every opportunity to stretch England's defense and roll him up in a hurry. Hint for France: you get to Clyde, England's fucked.

Ah I noticed that, Bob, but then you just built another fleet and since you already had BLA I knew it was going there and that was hostile. Maybe you shouldn't have build a fleet! Also I thought that since Italy had moved to BOH then maybe he would do that thing where the next army was going up the train and then with SIL, BOH and TYR he'd make an attack on MUN...but no. Anyhow.

could have been a better game... sorry for my bungling that led to my collapse- multi-tasking fail.

Of course I built fleets; you weren't going to be leaving Trieste very quickly, and the only way Italy would have backed off is if they were threatened on the Mediterranean side.